The Change
by BellaMi
Summary: Bella thought her worries would be over once she was transformed but she soon discovers that she still has enemies and needs to learn her own powers so that she can finally protect her family from all the danger she has brought them.
1. Awakening

**_AN: Thanks to Stephenie Meyer for creating such great characters and backgrounds. I only create background with things such as powers when Stephenie hasn't answered those questions for us yet. I have no claims to know what will really happen in Bella's future, this is my humble offering to a possibility._**

I felt like every fiber of my being was on fire. Something must have gone wrong. It hurt too much and my vision was too blurred to see where I was. Then suddenly I felt a touch of relief on my cheeks. There was still the burning but it felt as if someone had placed ice on the wound.

"Edward." It came out as barely a whisper. My throat was burning and I wanted to scream but it was too dry. My angel was still there at least. He hadn't left me. He wouldn't leave me again.

"Shhh," he breathed into my ear. "It will be ok. You're almost there my love." He cupped my face in his hands. "The hardest part is over, I love you."

Never in my life had I felt so helpless, so weak. Finally it made sense why I was safer to stay human during all those attacks against me. At least I would be aware. At least I wouldn't have been helpless _and_ a hindrance in my suffering. The thought that I was finally safe, that no one wanted me dead, that it would only be Edward and my family watching over me was a bit of a comfort. Still, part of me wished I would die.

Edward began to hum my lullaby. That and his cool hands never letting go of me were the only things that helped me hold onto my self. As long as I knew he was there, I knew who I was and I knew there was a reason behind the suffering. I would look back on the two and a half days I spent transforming and realize that surprisingly enough they did not belong in my 10 day worst days. No, the nights I spent without Edward were still by far the worst. Finally I wouldn't have to leave him. There would be no where we couldn't go together and nothing we couldn't do together.

With the end of the last note of the 360th lullaby, I died.

As I opened my eyes I could see the light just beginning to spread in from the South wall. It was a new dawn and with it the beginning of my new life—my new life as a vampire.

He was so used to me being weak and helpless that he didn't see it coming. One second he was cradling me in his arms humming and the next I had him on his back and pinned to the bed.

"You know, I think I'm going to like this," I chuckled as he looked up dazed. He hadn't even had the moment to register my heart stop beating. I bent down to whisper in his ear, "What do you want more—my body or my blood?"

That crooked grin of his I love so much crept across Edward's face as he growled back, "Definitely your body."

It hadn't been an easy transformation, but then again it never is. Edward's family—_my _family—was waiting downstairs waiting for my arrival as one of them. Finally I was there equal and no one could call me the cute family pet.

The Cullens always seemed so perfect and graceful to me. I thought it must have been natural from day one. It was going to be exciting to finally be looked at as more than the clumsy human. In my excitement my new found strength and speed completely slipped my mind. One second I was on the bed, the next I was facing a staircase far too fast for my own comfort and in an attempt to slow down I stopped completely and tumbled down the stairs landing on my back. I covered my face with my hands and just lay there hoping this was just a hallucination from the pain.

That's when it started. Rosalie's laugh at her superiority, Emmett's booming laugh, Alice's high chirruping chuckle, and Edward's soft chuckle that he used when he hoped I wouldn't hear.

"Oh Bella dear, are you ok? I don't think I've ever seen that happen before. Come here." Next thing I knew Esme was grabbing onto my shoulders and pulling me up. It was an interesting feeling in the fact that she could no longer sweep me up quite as quickly as before. Still, she got me on my feet and I finally let my hands drop.

Edward brushed his hand along my cheek and smiled. "You know love, you still blush a little when you're embarrassed."

"Thanks a lot," I spat back at him. This was definitely going to be the most embarrassing day of eternity for me. "I'm thirsty."


	2. Thirst

The thirst over the first few weeks was nearly unbearable. I wasn't allowed to leave the house unless I had Emmett and Edward at the very least to control me. Even then we immediately got in the car and would make sure we were as far from civilization as possible before I could begin to hunt.

It didn't take long for me to finally understand what Edward had said all this time about the different tastes of blood. Of all the predators Coyote was my least favorite. It was thin and stale, perhaps a result of its foraging habits. Black bear was manageable but far too sweet for me. Perhaps as dessert, but not a regular meal. Emmett told me that the sweetness goes away when they're just waking up from Hibernation because they tend to have gorged on blackberries beforehand and it took time for it to burn out of the blood stream.

Bobcat was my meal of choice. It moved like the wind and was so unpredictable. A feeling similar to an adrenaline rush fueled me in the hunt. The bobcat was the hardest for me to catch and as a result felt like the most worthwhile to me. The blood was smooth and silky with just a hint of sweet. Usually after two of them I was satisfied. Their small size meant more volume was needed but they were abundant enough in the area that this wouldn't be a problem once my feedings became sparser.

Three months after my change, with my eyes already turning more the orange of sunset than the shocking red I was born with, Carlisle called for a family meeting. It was almost time for my return to Italy with Edward so I assumed we would just be discussing the logistics.

"As everyone knows, we will all be leaving for Italy soon and when we return it will be time to move to our new home on the other end of the Peninsula," it always amazed me how Carlisle's voice was so sweet and yet held a ring of authority at all times. "Unless we want to swim the Atlantic, it would do us well to test Bella's endurance to humans very soon.

"While I would have preferred this could be put off until Bella has had a year or two away from the human population the Volturi have given us little choice. Next weekend Alice sees a strong storm coming that will keep most people indoors and off the road. Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Edward, I want you all to go down to Port Angeles and walk Bella through the town.

"Bella, I want you to pick up the scents and see how it makes you feel. If you become too thirsty you need to tell the others immediately and leave. All of them together should be able to hold you back but I don't want to risk it."

I was horrified. The last thing I wanted to do was be near humans. There was a monster within me, I knew, and I didn't want to give it a chance to come out. No where near as well recited as Carlisle I whispered, "I think I'd rather swim."

Rosalie shot me a dirty look and said, "I'm not showing up in Italy looking like a wet dog. You owe us."

She was right. I did owe them. All of their lives had changed drastically because of me and I didn't want to cause them any more trouble. I hung my head down in defeat.

"But Rosalie, it's all that's going to be showing up on the runways this year!" Alice laughed and gave me a wink. "Don't worry Bella, I can't see any massacre in Port Angeles coming up."

I groaned. Emmett and Jasper were still betting on me and would have loved to see exactly what Alice was _claiming_ wouldn't happen. I was starting to wonder if she sometimes fudged the truth of her visions to get people to do what she wanted. No wonder she was a perfect match for Jasper.

Then the one voice I couldn't argue with spoke up, "Bella, it will be ok. You're too stubborn to give in to temptation anyways." He chuckled and I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Fine, but remember you promised me Antarctica if I ever slipped up."


	3. Irina

The thought of going into Port Angeles in my current condition was enough to give a person a heart attack—if they had a beating heart to stop. Several times over the past few days I got into wrestling matches with both Emmett and Jasper over their betting. I refused to let either of them win.

Surprisingly, it was Rosalie I wanted to win. She was the only one involved in the betting that thought I wouldn't slip up. Her confidence in me was surprising. Even after the conversion she had been cold to me, still bitter that I had a choice and still gave up my human life. It was still encouraging though to have her on my side in one thing.

On Saturday morning Alice and Jasper slid into the front of Carlisle's Mercedes. Emmett and Edward got in on opposite sides of me in the back. We decided that first we would drive through the city with the windows cracked down as a preliminary test.

Just ten minutes outside of Forks Alice's cheerful face suddenly went rigid. Before anyone could say anything Jasper had pulled over to the side of the road and had Alice's face cupped in his hands. I felt incredibly calm right then and knew he must be calming Alice's nerves.

A few minutes passed with Alice still in a daze and I began to worry she was seeing the Great Massacre of Port Angeles.

"Um, Alice…" My voice was weak and I couldn't finish the question I wanted to ask. _How many_ was what I wanted to know, but I couldn't bring myself to accept defeat. I would start running to Antarctica right now if she said she saw me hurt anyone.

Suddenly a grin flickered across Alice's face. "Bella, I don't think you need to plan running all the way to Antarctica yet. That wasn't what I saw. It's just…" She hesitated; it was never a good sign to me when Alice was unsure of herself. "Well, we're going to run into Irina in Port Angeles and I don't know what she wants. She keeps changing her mind on what she wants to do so I don't know if she plans to go home to Tanya, or spend time with us, or anything."

Everyone in the car breathed out a sigh of relief and Edward spoke up, calming my nerves, "You worried us Alice. It's just Irina and she's not exactly someone to worry about, she's a friend. It will be good to see her again and she can meet Bella!"

That seemed to settle it and we continued on our way to Port Angeles. Just before entering the city Alice told Jasper to make an unexpected left. Another 3 miles down the road and we pulled over at what looked like and abandoned airstrip. Next to the one large hanger was a silver Volvo that looked exactly like Edwards. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Edward. His lips were tight and he was frowning.

"Something's wrong here," he said between gritted teeth.

"What do you mean? It's just Irina, even if she wanted to pick a fight over the whole Laurent thing she wouldn't dare with all of us together." I wasn't convinced that Emmett didn't expect a fight though. He always had a glint in his eye when he thought a fight was about to happen and I could see it now. 

"There's more than just Irina. There's somebody inside that hanger who will not stop humming 'Rocket Man'. I don't like this. Irina is hiding something from us. She's reciting all of a Midsummer Night's Dream to herself."

Alice frowned and finally chirruped, "Let's go meet her. I can't see anything bad happening…yet."

That last comment made me uneasy but Edward was already sliding out of the door with his hand gripped in mind. He bent down and whispered in my ear, "No matter what, don't let go of my hand."

All I could do was nod my head as I followed him. The last I had heard of Irina was that she was still bitter over the Pack killing Laurent to save me. I never got the impression that Irina and I would ever be friends.

Even though we were on opposite ends of the runway I could already see her eyes bordering on black. It was still a bit disorientating to have such improved eyesight. I always assumed I was closer to things than I was. Edward kept making fun of me for being the clumsy vampire in history. Still, the hint of gold still present in her eyes was comforting. I startled myself at time when I looked in the mirror and saw my red eyes staring back at me.

Just as we were about to cover the last several yards to Irina, Alice gasped, Edward froze, and an enormous growl erupted out of all of them. The doors to the hanger had swung open revealing a person in a black hooded cape that brushed the ground that was just hoping back inside the cockpit of some type of small aircraft.

"HOW DARE YOU!" The roar erupted from a furious looking Edward crouched next to me.

I was dazed. I had no idea what was going on but I didn't like it. Instinct took over and I found myself crouched like a bobcat ready to pounce. A guttural snarl slipped from between my lips. Any other time this would have shocked me but I didn't like the way Irina was looking at my family. She looked smug and I wasn't going to let her hurt my family in any way.

The man in the cockpit lowered his hood and that's when everyone but my self froze.

"I'm sorry Bella, I should have seen. I'm so sorry Bella." It was Alice sounding more morose than I had ever heard before. This wasn't good at all.

Edward was shaking his head looking broken whispering "No" over and over again.

"It appears to me Edward dear that your little pet has a date with Caius. Alec and I thought we could give her a private flight there." A sneer spread across Irina's face. This wasn't an offer, it was an ultimatum. I didn't need anyone to explain. It was clear in the way Irina was holding herself.

I wasn't about to let Alec hurt my family. As long as Alec was in a plane back to Italy with me, he couldn't unleash his powers on them. There was nothing to think about.

"I love you Edward." I stepped forward towards Irina, not knowing when I would see my family again.


	4. Mind over Matter

**_AN: I made a couple small edits to try and clarify some confusion about Bella's appearance._**

The pain I felt flying away with Irina and Alec was worse than anything I felt during my transformation. I was leaving my new family behind and was suddenly alone with enemies. In the past there had always been someone there that loved me, that cared about me. Now I was with one person that I knew hated me and another that I was warned may find me a threat.

Ever since Carlisle started planning my return to Italy he had warned me that many in the Volturi guard would find me a threat to their position. Whether I developed any special power or not, they would know that Aro saw potential in me. If he added a new person to his guard that would mean someone else would be leaving. No one wanted to fall out of favor with the Volturi.

I sat in absolute silence just staring ahead. We stopped once in Denver for fuel and then again at Dulles International Airport. There were people everywhere. As we taxied down the runway I could see them everywhere. Inside the planes, in the terminal, running across the tarmac, they were like fish in a tank; mine for the choosing.

When the plane stopped Irina grabbed my arm and began pulling me outside. "Don't even think of running Bella, we may not be able to find you, but your coven will be easy enough to locate and _they_ aren't as immune to Alec's power."

I followed.

A new jet painted burgundy and with a black V on the tail wing awaited us in the next hanger from the one we had parked in. I wasn't human and I wasn't a vampire; I was a zombie once again. This time I was the one leaving my Edward behind. I promised that not even death could part us and here I was leaving him. The entire flight to Italy I tried to convince myself that I was doing the right thing to protect my family but it hurt to be apart from them.

It wasn't until eight hours into the flight that I suddenly noticed the stench. Something smelled like rust…and the ocean. My lip twitched. The memory of nausea surfaced and I could have sworn I was feeling it again. Just as quickly as it came, the smell went away with the slamming of a metal door into what I assumed was a cargo area of the plane. For the first time since the start of the flight I moved.

Standing there with blazing red eyes and a huge grin across her face was Irina. I gasped and was sure I really did feel sick this time. She wiped a small trickle of blood off of the corner of her mouth. As long as she still had the gold in her eyes I felt like Irina could come through as an ally. Now that all hint of her civilized self was gone fear started to flood into the zombie I was becoming.

Ever since I first looked into Laurent's eyes I associated that burning red with evil and something to run from. Gold was the color of safety and all things good.

"Thanks for having them stock a snack Alec. I took the man but there's still the woman left for you. It's a shame it had to be over so quick with him." Even now that I was one of them I found it appalling the way Irina spoke about humans. A snack? The same thing Laurent had once referred to me as.

"Thank you for your help in getting the girl. Caius will be sure to repay you for your loyalty. Carlisle's clan has become far too independent for their own good. Wasting so much effort on this girl, I can't see anything remarkable about her at all. Perhaps Aro was finally wrong about someone," the last part Alec mumbled to himself as he headed back for the cargo. I don't think he meant for me to hear it. It was odd hearing him speak. His voice was still boyish and sounded like an arrogant child bragging about his latest accomplishment.

The Volturi prided themselves on their strength and much of their strength came from the unity of themselves and their guard. Alec's last comment was annoyed and disrespectful. Perhaps a rift was forming. Alec was clearly not loyal to Aro, he seemed to prefer Caius far more.

Alice once told me that he was the reason the Volturi guard was invincible but she had never said quite why that was. She didn't seem eager to talk about the Volturi at all. The entire family was intimidated by them and the risk they possessed. Even Carlisle who was so good at keeping himself in control had let his face slip a few times to show his concern over the Volturi's reaction to our family getting larger.

I tried to focus straight forward and keep my breathing under control. No matter how many other parts of me had changed I still felt the desire to hyperventilate start to overtake me as the fear flooded me. Neither Irina nor Alec had the intention of taking me to a meeting just to make sure I was a vampire. Both of them seemed to be looking forward to a spectacle and I was fairly certain that I would be the center of that spectacle.

"Almost there Bella," Irina chuckled in my ear. I could smell the rust on her breath but I didn't dare move from her. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing I was horrified. "It shouldn't hurt too much. The Volturi will see what a waste of a vampire you are and will take care of you quickly then."

My death was amusing to her.

I sat there looking completely blank and tried to shut it all out. Edwards face floated in front of me. "Just keep quiet. She won't hurt you my love. Just follow until you get to Aro. Aro will take care of this. It will be ok." I relaxed just a little a bit at the sound of his voice. It rang with truth. The Volturi had no reason to harm me. If I was as plain as everyone kept saying I was they had no reason to feel threatened by me.

I could hear Edward humming my lullaby to me as I shut my eyes. The plane started dropping in altitude but I ignored my impending doom. I escaped into my mind and started reliving every memory I had ever had with Edward. The first day I saw him in the cafeteria, the spark I felt when he first touched my hand in Biology, the day he saved my life in the Forks High parking lot…our meadow.

Alec and Irina were on either side of my body guiding me into a black Maserati Quattroporte. They were in Italy but I was back in the meadow with Edward. I was slowly tracing circles on the back of his hand. He was glistening in the sunlight like a magnificent diamond sculpture. I smiled when I heard a quiet purr slip from him. He was happy and so was I.

Next to me Irina growled. She was not enjoying seeing me still happy despite everything.

"What is wrong with this girl?" Irina scoffed.

"She didn't seem to understand the full implications last time either. It will make it that much easier anyways. Aro will see this time that there is nothing there worthwhile. She stands out no more than an average human to me."

That's odd. What did he mean by the way I stand out? Every part of my appearance showed the tell tale signs of a Vampire. Of course my skin hadn't changed much from the albino it was before unless I was in the sunlight but I was still clearly not human. I was stronger, faster and more agile than any human. In the sun I glimmered and my eyes still had the red tint that came with being a new born.

Oh well. That wasn't my concern now. Edward was about showing me around his home for the first time. He was playing Esme's favorite piece on the Grand Piano. I loved that song but my lullaby would always be my favorite.

It was nighttime in Volterra and my eyes only flickered up for a moment as we passed the bell tower. I grinned again. That was still one of the best days of my life—finally reunited with my love. When I was in his arms it didn't matter to me if the Volturi killed us both right then. All that had mattered was that we were together one last time.

By the time I had fully recalled the feeling of Edwards arms wrapped around me that day we were already entering the reception hall with Gianna carefully organizing paperwork at the front desk. This was the first time since my change that I had been this close to a human. I couldn't help it, my nose crinkled up at the smell of her and a frown spread across my face. Irina must have misunderstood my face because she chuckled to herself about how the young ones are always hungry. Only a small part of me found anything appetizing about Gianna; the same part of me that was willing to eat spinach if I absolutely had to when I was human. She smelled stale to me. A coyote would have tasted better then than her. I was going to have to ask Carlisle about this when I got home. Well, if I got home.

A silky sweet voice sounded in my head, "Mind over matter love, mind over matter."


	5. Processional

**_AN: I added in an extra paragraph to clarify Alec's commentary on Bella.  
_**

Edward had always told me that human memories fade quickly for most vampires and that was part of the struggle for newborns. They lost their identity and had to reform it during this first year. He had promised to do everything he could to help me keep hold of myself. Strangely enough, there was very little need for a reminder of whom I was and whom I would be. I was Bella, simply Bella.

As we entered through a panel of wood back into another section of dark, cold ancient stone pathways I had to repress a groan. The memory of clinging onto Edward even though I was freezing and knowing we were surrounded by enemies surged to the front of my mind. I shivered a little even though I could no longer actually feel the cold.

Alec chuckled from beside me.

I let out a snarl. Clearly he was feeling himself justified at calling be as average as a human.

"Such a weak mind. Edward was foolish to waste his chance at la tua cantante, there is nothing more extraordinary to her now than there was when she was human" Alec chuckled to Irina. He seemed so please to rub in my every insecurity. I had no great power like Edward. Now I wasn't wired different from every human, I was wired different from every vampire.

Suddenly Alec grew serious and stepped ahead of me to enter the cavernous stone antechamber in front of us first. As we entered I realized I must have been mistaken about the time of night when we first left the airport. Sunlight from a new dawn was beginning to trickle in through the high thin window slips above us.

The sunlight danced along the skin on my exposed hands. Edward was still the more glorious one to me in the sunlight. His skin had so much more depth than mine and it made the rainbows bouncing off of him that much more intense. He kept telling me that I was the more angelic looking but I still preferred to watch him glisten more than myself.

There were far fewer people in the room this time. A group of women huddled together talking in rushed whispers. Clearly they were talking about the latest gossip. Irina eyed them carefully before turning her back on me and joining in. I still didn't know much about the Denali clan but from what I had heard from Alice, they had a soft spot for men of all kinds and so it wasn't hard to guess what the exact topic of conversation was that interested Irina so much.

I finally peeled my eyes away from her and saw Alec on the opposite side of the room talking to a tall figure in a black cloak. It wasn't until I saw a glimpse of hair fall out of the front that I realized which of the Volturi it was. Aro and Marcus had both found be intriguing the last time I stepped foot in this room but Caius had wanted me dead.

His shoulder length white hair was the give away. He moved forward, almost floating and it was not until he stood just a few feet away from me that he lowered his hood to look down at me. Actually, glare down at me felt like the more accurate word.

"My brothers will be here shortly but I would like a few words with you first." Even with my enhanced hearing I had to strain to hear his soft voice. He clearly didn't want to draw attention to the fact that he wanted a private conversation with me. I guessed his brothers didn't know of his intentions and taking me off to another room would have been a give away the second they entered the antechamber.

I pulled my lips tightly together and tried to keep my expression as blank as possible. Even now I had a hard time keeping my face from giving me away. Refusing to meet his eyes I stared off across the room and happened to catch eyes with Jane. She looked extremely annoyed. Something told me she was trying to check if our last encounter was a fluke. I couldn't help it, I sighed in relief knowing she couldn't hurt me. As long as she wasn't near my family I didn't care what she could do. She was no threat to me.

Caius followed my gaze and frowned, "How do you do that?" Although he wasn't looking at me the question was clearly directed for my self.

I shrugged a little bit but refused to open my mouth. Edward always told me how brave I was but I knew that my voice would betray my fear right now. In any case I didn't want to give Caius the satisfaction of receiving a proper response. Carlisle and Edward both had theories about why I was not affected the same as the others but I was not about to share that information with Caius. I operated on a different frequency of sorts and I was not about to give Caius a chance to find someone else on the same frequency as me.

"We can get this done with quicker Isabella if you just answer my questions," he said in a purr. The tone of his voice caught me off guard. He had always seemed so threatening to me that I had no clue how to handle this new gentleness. I do to him the same thing I do to Edward any time he tries to dazzle me into getting his own way.

As best I could I set my face into a disgusted look with the side of my upper lip curled up. I was not going to play his game the way he wanted.

Then without thinking I plopped unceremoniously on the crowd with my legs crossed and hands folded across my lap. I was just as stubborn as always and wanted to make it clear that I didn't mind waiting. Clearly he didn't intend to kill me or else it would have already been done. I had an eternity to be with Edward and was willing to wait as long as I needed for Caius to give up and let me return to Edward.

Alec was now standing off with his sister Jane and Irina was no longer anywhere to be seen. I started to wonder if she was getting uncomfortable with her arrangement with the Volturi. She must have thought I would be done away with quickly and must not like Caius's intense interest in me. Very odd indeed, I thought.

Caius was eyeing me intensely, waiting to see if he could find any chink in my armor. Several times he motioned at specific onlookers to stand next to him. They would stare at me for several minutes, become dejected and walked away. I was now becoming very curious and caught Caius frowning when I cocked my head in surprise as one of the vampires walked away cursing. What was this chain of vampires seeing in me that upset them so much? I started to notice that the room was filling up as more people entered through the main doors, each to take their turn to stare at me.

Suddenly it clicked. The look on Jane's face and the look on every other that face were the same, defeated. They weren't just staring at me; each was trying their power on me in turn. A chill crept down my spine as I remembered Alice's words, "Gifts that make what I can do look like a parlor trick." I shuddered again.

For the first time since he approached me Caius and I locked eyes and all I could see in them was fear. He suddenly looked fragile and weak and in no way intimidating any longer. It was then that I realized that no one was actually scared of him, but what he could order his guards to do. Almost all of his guards had an upper hand in a fight due to their mental abilities.

As the full implications of this hit me I gasped. Caius was frightened because his guard could only harm me in a physical fight and that suddenly put them at a disadvantage. They could only kill me, and death was of no use to the Volturi. It was preferable to be able to manipulate people into doing their will.

I closed my eyes in meditation. Edward could see people's intentions, Alice could see danger coming and I could stop anything that was dangerous against the mind. It should have comforted me some to think of this but it didn't.

Yes, I was safe, for the first time since I moved to Forks and had my fateful encounter with Edward. I didn't matter though, it was my family I wanted safe. Surely Caius realized that I cared more about my family than I did myself. Where was the threat in me then? He could still hurt me the most by harming them.

Suddenly I wasn't the tool to be used to hurt Edward; Edward was the tool that could be used to harm me. I would do anything to protect Edward and I couldn't help but wish he had gone into hiding. I didn't want him coming after me, I wanted him to run away and keep safe.

The only sign that someone else had entered the room was the sudden rush of air from two bodies flashing past my sides. I opened my eyes to find Aro and Marcus standing by their thrones, both looking annoyed with Caius. Marcus mainly kept his eyes on me but occasionally I heard a few words when Aro let his temper rise too high.

"How dare you! Without us! ...never want to join...hurt our chances! ...the possibilities...wasted...foolish of you…"

Suddenly the entire room went quiet as all three turned to face me with expressions changing rapidly from disgust to fear to anger to simple curiosity. This was either my end or my beginning and I no longer cared which as long as my family was still safe.


	6. Deception

_**AN: Thank you for those of you that have left me reviews and encouragement. Special thanks to my friend queequeg for helping me formulate the beginning of this chapter. Praise and constructive criticism is always appreciated from anyone so that I can keep improving on future chapters.**_

"Stand up, look forward and keep quiet." I was on my feet before the sentence was finished, so startled to hear that voice, sure that he couldn't really be standing right behind me.

I took in a deep breath and sure enough there was not a trace of his sweet scent in the room. It took every ounce of my resolve to keep my emotions in check and continue my marble façade. That voice would never lie to me; in fact, it was more honest with me than I was with myself. Still, hearing that velvety voice always left me disorientated.

"They are too interested now to do anything to you, wait, we'll be there." That last comment made me flinch just a little. Deep down I knew it was true. My family was on their way and would fight for me if they needed too. I wish they wouldn't though. It wasn't fair that I had thrown their life into such tumult.

Aro was eyeing me with hungry eyes. He looked almost like a child in a toy shop and I was the newest gadget he wanted to play with. My sudden change in position seemed to excite him, as if there was finally a game to play. I realized that he probably did see this as a game—perhaps chess. He was trying to maneuver his army to try to force me to surrender. Or perhaps it was just not me that he was expecting to surrender but Edward and Alice as well. Edward always said that it was at the back of Aro's thoughts every time he saw him.

There was no way to stop my family from coming so I may as well not cause them to arrive with only a bonfire left to rescue. We were safer as a whole now and I knew it was foolish to try and play the martyr. Often times the martyr ended up being the cause of a great war.

I still had a lot to learn but I found it easier to act a bit more logically these days. Perhaps it was how fast my mind was processing everything. It gave me more time to consider all the possibilities. In fact lately I began to feel I was even becoming predictable but the others still insisted that I was one of the most erratic people they have ever met. I still hadn't decided if that was an insult or a compliment.

Marcus was frustrated with this situation. If Edward was here it would have been interesting for him but he had a hard time understand the individual. In fact if any of the family were here I could tell he would have been more interested. As it was, I was a single person with no relationship he could analyze.

It was easy to understand how fascinating Marcus must find relationships could be. Just watching the three rulers standing together was intriguing for me. The two female companions always stayed back in the wings and made no move for dominance. I thought back to the façade of leadership Laurent put on in James's coven and couldn't help but sense a similarity. Both Jasper and Emmett were quick to jump at what ever Alice and Rosalie pushed them to do and I wouldn't be surprised if the two mysterious women had a similar level of influence.

Caius seemed resigned. Being the only one of the three not to have an additional power to strengthen him, the power of his guard was of more importance to him. He had seemed the most intimidating to me because those without power tend to abuse it when they get control of it. I expected some amount of anger right now, or even fear. While those emotions had flashed across his face at first, he settled on just giving into the situation.

As a family we had discussed the possibility of Caius putting up the most resistance to our family getting so large. Large families drew attention. Large families were also covers for large armies. While the Volturi knew very well that we were likely the least violent of any coven in existence, we also had the potential among us to be the most deadly.

Right now would be a good time to have Edward. I am decent at reading people's expressions but it is far easier for people to lie with their body language than it is to lie with their thoughts. These men could be dangerous if they wanted to. For a change something was going right for me and they hadn't decided to get dangerous…yet.

Onlookers were shifting uncomfortably all around the room. Clearly none of them had the ability to predict what was going to happen either. This had not been a planned meeting so there was no heads up from Alice on what to expect. For the first time in a very long time it felt like we were all truly living in the moment. There was no one to reassure me or give warnings on what to avoid. There was no one here to give the Volturi the upper hand in persuasion. As long as there was no one here I cared about, they were powerless…or so I thought.

Aro stretched a fragile looking finger toward Alec and motioned for him to come. Without saying a word Alec slipped his hand into Aro's as both of them stared on at me. A frown stretched across his face and what seemed like hours of silence was finally broken.

"Please come forward Irina."

I was expecting that the silence would have been broken by some type of question directed at me and had almost forgotten Irina's presence in the room. My eyes darted over to the group of gossipers I had seen her disappear among earlier and I saw that they had separated with each half pushing themselves as far away from the interloper as possible. She looked vulnerable standing there exposed and by herself, the center of attention now. I felt a surge of pity for her but quickly reminded myself that she had most likely wanted me dead by bringing me here.

Irina moved as slowly as she dared to stand in front of Aro. As he lifted his hand I was reminded again of how strangely delicate his skin looked. He brushed Irina's cheek and while I knew his skin was as durable as mine I still expected it to flake off as he touched her. A wicked glint flashed in Aro's eyes as he saw all of the information inside of Irina's mind. Edward always told me the women of the Denali clan had a _colorful_ past but refused to go much further than that. I often suspected he was trying to avoid making me jealous of them. While he never actually did anything with them I hated the idea of Edward being sought after by another woman.

"You have an odd definition of friendship Irina," Aro started with a chuckle but then his face grew very cold. "You also have an odd definition for the used of our guard. While we appreciate having Bella here, you would have been wise not to lie to us about the Cullens' intentions."

Irina cowered back under the force of Aro's burning stare; she had no intention of contradicting anything Aro had to say. That was wise seeing as how Aro was the only person better than Edward at finding out every secret a person had ever kept.

Turning just slightly towards his brothers, Aro summarized what he had seen inside Irina's mind. She had spent months plotting some way to get revenge on the Cullens. It appeared that Jane had stopped by after the incident with Victoria to make sure every loose end was cleaned up. Since Victoria had been up there several times to visit Laurent Jane had made sure that the Denali clan had no intention of continuing Victoria's footsteps.

It was then that she had discovered that Laurent was killed because of me and not because he had just wandered across a pack of hungry werewolves. From that moment Irina wanted to see me dead. She didn't care about hurting the Cullens even though she had been their friend far longer than she had been intimate with Laurent. When Carlisle had called Tanya to tell her about our planned trip to Volterra, Irina knew she would need to act quickly. She had sent a message to the head of the Volturi guard stating that she overheard a conversation in which the Carlisle's coven intended to run away to an unknown place to avoid their scheduled meeting over Bella's sentence. That was when Alec got involved and let Irina plan the ruse to kidnap me.

Suddenly it made sense why Alice hadn't seemed the threat coming. Since the day Edward bit me Alice had focused all of her attention on the Volturi. She was waiting to see if they would send someone to try and pull me away from the family. What she hadn't expected was that someone outside of the Volturi would come up with that exact plan. Since Alec didn't actually know what the plan was or where he was going, Alice was unable to see him coming to kidnap me.

I was starting to become impressed with all the effort Irina had put into this. She didn't want to get her own hands dirty killing me and so she had devised a plan to get the Volturi to take care of her problem. While she wanted revenge, she was no longer a murderer and could not bring herself to even kill another vampire. What she didn't account for was how intrigued the group already was by me and that they wouldn't do away with me quickly as she had expected. The Volturi were not ones to take nicely to being manipulated.

The brothers talked in hushed whispers to one another and after several moments it appeared they had come to some kind of decision. As always, Aro was the one to make the command.

"Jane, please teach Irina what happens to those that think they can control the Volturi."

In an instant Irina was on the floor screaming and writhing in pain. The pang of pity I felt for Irina before surged to the forefront of my mind and before I knew what I was doing I screamed out, "NO!"

Irina stopped writhing and the entire room stared at me in silent shock. Jane's eyes had glazed over for an instant but as I stumbled back in surprise they regained their menacing glint. She looked infuriated with me and I couldn't understand why. Why had she listened to me crying out? Why…

By mouth fell open as I realized the answer to my own question. She hadn't been listening to what I was saying. I had not called out with just my voice but also my mind without even understanding what I was doing. In that moment when I focused on wanting to shield Irina from Jane's mind, Jane had stopped against her own will. It made no sense to me.

Slowly I turned my head to look at every face staring back at me and realized that it didn't make sense to any of the others either. When finally my eyes found those of Aro again I was taken aback.

There was triumph in his eyes.


	7. Heroine

Aro had always prided himself on his ability to see talent in people. He had seen the potential for talent in me from the day Edward first conveyed all he knew about me to Aro. It was very rare for the Volturi to recruit their guard from among the human population. It was only the truly exceptional humans that ever caught their eye as anything other than a meal. I, along with Alec and Jane, was one of the rarities.

What once had been a joke about being wired different than everyone else really was true. My mind behaved irregularly and acted on a different frequency from not just all humans, but vampires as well. That still didn't explain to me what just happened with Jane, but somehow I created interference. Back in Forks Edward would always grumble any time we went under power lines in my old truck because the reception would suddenly become distorted and full of static. Maybe Edward was more accurate than he suspected when he said I operated on another frequency. If the electrical currents in my brain were different from every one, perhaps when I projected them I could cause something similar to the power line interference to happen. No, that was ridiculous, how could such a thing be possible? Interference would have just diminished the potency of the attack and not stop it altogether. Then again, Jane isn't used to any kind of resistance and may have been just as startled by the development as me.

A million thoughts at once were rushing through my head, attempting to analyze what was going on. With every new idea came a hundred reasons why it could not be possible. Surely I would have accidentally distorted Edward's power at some point in the last few months if that's what I was capable of and surely Alice would have seen what I was capable of. I was safe in my own mind, yes, but there was just no way _I_ could make _others_ safe in my own mind. I remembered all those episodes of Star Trek my dad would watch when I was little and visiting. This felt like something more out of that than anything. "Force-fields at maximum power Spock!" It was a ridiculous idea; force-fields were the things of science fiction and not of reality. Well, every day I was learning that the line between fantasy and reality was thinner than I thought. Just a few years back I would have scoffed at anyone that suggested there were real vampires in the world and here I am now, living...existing proof that there are such thing.

Right now though I was growing increasingly anxious to hear what Aro suspected of this. He was clearly looking smug about being right about me. I wasn't just some vacant mind that no one could toy with, I was a weapon. Perhaps weapon wasn't the best term because I didn't actually attack Jane; a shield would probably be a more apt description.

Irina was still lying on the floor but was looking at me like a deer caught in headlights. "Why?" She whispered.

Her questioned startled me. I had been expecting questions to flood from every corner of the room asking "how" but I never thought of "why."

"I don't know," I really was at a lost for why I had felt such a need to protect her. She was so helpless. I remembered how horrible it felt back in the meadow with Laurent getting ready to kill me. There was no one coming to protect me then. A person I thought was a friend ended up an enemy. I could see that in Irina now. She came to the Volturi for help and was now being attacked.

That was why I needed to protect her. I needed to protect her because she needed someone and I could. Her intentions toward me no longer mattered. Just as the Pack could have seen me as a threat and still rescued me, I had needed to rescue Irina.

Ever since he lost his mate Marcus had been the quietest of the Volturi. If he had anything to say it was said with Aro as the messenger. Most of the Volturi guard had never even heard his voice. Many in the Volterra court felt that Marcus was the weakest of the group because of his silence and detachment. Those same people were the ones that underestimated the power of being able to see the depths of relationships. Any time there was someone among the visitors that planned a coup d'état—Marcus had been the one to single them out. The only reason I had any idea of this was from listening to Carlisle's stories from the time he spent in Volterra. He had always found Marcus to be the most fascinating of the three and Marcus had always been the most open to hearing about Carlisle's lifestyle.

That was way there was a collective gasp as he said, "Bella is a heroine. If I'm not mistaken she seems to need to protect those that are _weak_." He hissed the last part at Irina. I couldn't decide if it was her attempted manipulation or betrayal that angered him more. His voice was lower and huskier than either Caius or Aro and I was shocked by this. He had the voice of a commander and it seemed odder than ever that Aro was the spokesman.

As I repeated his words over to myself a lump caught in my throat. He had called me a "heroine." The play on words from what felt like a past life made me want to cry out. I hadn't been away from Edward for this long in ages and it felt unnatural. I had been, and still was, his brand of heroin. Now more than ever I wished that he really was coming to rescue me. Funny though that I was the damsel in distress even as Marcus stood here telling me I had developed a hero-complex.

He seemed very pleased with this development though and even through my pain I couldn't help but smile back at him. I liked Marcus. There was much more to him than I think even Carlisle had learned. Perhaps there was more there than his family knew.

Separating himself from his guard and two brothers, Marcus floated forward to stand before me. His eyes felt like they were penetrating to my soul; taking in every aspect of my being. Just as I felt there was more to him, he seemed to be searching for more of me. We stood there staring into each others eyes and I could see the sadness within him. They were shallower than they should have been and lacked the enthusiasm of life. The sadness I used to be able to hear Edward's voice when he recalled the thought of losing me was what I saw etched all across Marcus's features. What once may have been a powerful commander was now almost an empty shell—very little remained of who he once was.

I heard the faintest sound of a shuffle from behind Marcus and then saw a pale hand slide onto his shoulder. It was Aro and he seemed to be struggling with what to say. He was seeing everything that was processing in Marcus's mind as he looked at me. Now not only was Marcus gazing into my soul but Aro was as well. Something Aro had seen left him startled. I thought back to my first meeting with them and remembered Aro saying that Marcus was surprised by the intensity in the bond Edward and I had. He also said that it took a lot to surprise Marcus. Here they both stood, unable to put on a mask to hide their astonishment.

Marcus lifted a hand as if to brush my cheek but quickly withdrew it, unsure if he was going too far. He tilted his head to the side and barely breathed out, "Diana, she reminds me of my Diana."

The longing in his voice left me with no doubt of whom this Diana was. She could only be his lover that he lost in battle long ago, the loss that had turned him into a zombie until now. Even he hadn't realized it at the time but what had shocked him so much about Edward and I was that we were a reflection of him and his lost love, hero and heroine.

_**AN: I am leaving this at the end so that it doesn't give anything away.**_

_**The name Marcus is originally derived from Mars, Roman god of war. So I am developing his character based on this warrior concept. Since Stephenie has never told us the name of Marcus's mate I continued with the concept of Roman gods and chose Diana, goddess of the hunt. I may write a side story I've come up with on the two of them.**_


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